


In the Dark, Light a Candle

by Deisderium



Series: The First Rule of Book Club [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Continuing Fluff, Fluff, Friendship Really Is Magic, Gen, Hanukkah, Jewish Bucky Barnes, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Sometimes You Just Have to Roll With It, When You Get an Idea for a Hanukkah Fic Just After Hanukkah Ends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 15:20:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17082800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deisderium/pseuds/Deisderium
Summary: Janelle takes Bucky to Zumba at their local Jewish Community Center.





	In the Dark, Light a Candle

Janelle isn't sure how she started talking about her workout routine with James, but he'd been horrified to learn she only did cardio, which had somehow led to the two of them working out together once a week and him making her do pushups and squats and burpees like some kind of _monster_. Two months into it, she is prepared to admit that it isn't entirely terrible and also that if she flexes her arm in front of her bathroom mirror, she can see an actual line where her bicep is, so clearly it's having some kind of effect. 

However, in retaliation for the curtsy squats, she has extracted the promise from James that he will come with her to yoga and Zumba and give them both a couple of tries. 

"What the hell is Zumba?" he says when she first proposes this. 

"It's a dance class at the J. You'll like it, it's fun." When he looks dubious, she  says, "Don't worry. We'll stay in the back of the class. No one cares if you can't get the steps--everyone's trying to figure them out themselves." 

"I don't know..." He looks down at his left arm. 

"They dim the lights, and we'll be in the back. No one's going to be looking at us." He chews on his lip, visibly torn. "James, there's a _disco ball_." 

He gives her a look that she interprets as either a disco ball not being a big draw or possibly that he doesn't know what one is. "I'll wear long sleeves," he says, and she mentally pumps her fist. 

"Give it a couple of classes to decide if you like it," she says. "It can be hard to pick up the steps at first."

But the joke's on her, because as it turns out, James picks it up really fast and is a great dancer. The jumpy spinny parts give him absolutely no pause, and he can mambo within seconds. She shouldn't be surprised--supersoldier, after all--but she guesses there was some small part of her that wanted to see him have to figure it out because _he made her do mountain climbers, god damn it_. 

By the cooldown and stretch, Janelle at least is sweaty and has danced away some of the aches left by James's monstrous bodyweight regime. She waves a thank you at the instructor, who is adjusting her hearing aids and giving her service dog the signal that she can get up. 

"I've never seen a dog sit so still," James says. 

"Yeah, it's incredible how disciplined she is when she's working." Janelle picks up her water bottle and sweatshirt and takes a big swig from one and ties the other around her waist. "So what did you think?" 

"It was fun." James shoots her a smile. "I used to go dancing, but it was a little different from that." His brow wrinkles. "Why were there so many songs about Miami?" 

"No idea." They walk down the steps towards the entrance they came in only to see orange cones and a giant spill of a dark brown liquid that she sincerely hopes is someone's coke. "Yuck, never mind. We can go in through the front entrance. Come on." 

They detour back past the room the class was in, past all the weight machines Janelle doesn't know how to use, past offices and the basketball gym where a swarm of toddlers are chunking balls at each other, apparently. 

"Pretty big place," James comments. 

"Yeah, it's a community center, so there's a lot more than just the workout stuff. There's a daycare on the other end of the building. A pool in the summer." She grins at him and moves her sweatshirt from her waist to actually put it on; she's cooled down enough that she doesn't want to actually get cold. They head down the stairs on the other end of the building and into the front lobby. 

James stops dead. Janelle almost runs into him. 

He's looking at the giant menorah against one wall. 

"James?" Janelle touches his right shoulder. She'd never touch his left without asking first. 

"We had one," he says. "In my house, when I was kid." His eyes have gone a little out of focus, like maybe he's trying to pull out a memory. 

"You're Jewish?" 

He waves his hand in a so-so gesture. "My ma was," he says slowly, "and my dad was Catholic. We went to temple and church." 

"Was that confusing?" 

"Seemed normal to me." He shrugs, but it's not a casual motion. "Ma wasn't that strict, and when I went to Europe, I didn't...I didn't try to keep kosher or anything. But I remember some of the prayers..." His mouth moves silently for a couple of seconds, trying out the shapes of words he doesn't say aloud. "Are _you_ Jewish?" 

Janelle shakes her head. "No. I grew up Baptist, but after I came out I kind of stopped going." That's eliding over a lot of painful discussions and the one aunt who still doesn't talk to her, but she doesn't really want to get into it right now. "I go to a Unitarian church every once in a while. I just like it here." 

He looks around the lobby again, taking in the mezuzah by the door to the offices and the _shalom y'all_ welcome mats. "Yeah." 

"If you wanted help remembering anything about it, or had questions about whatever's different, there are folks here who could help. I could put you in touch." 

"Maybe." He runs his right thumb over his gloved left hand. "Ma used to make latkes." 

Janelle hooks her gross sweaty arm through his gross sweaty arm. "There's still a couple of days left in Hanukkah. I bet we can find a place to buy you a menorah and some latkes." 

"Let's go get a hanukkiah," he says as they start walking to the door. "It's got nine candles instead of eight. Then let's stop by the grocery store, and I'll see if I can make you some latkes." 

It takes a little help from the internet and they burn the first few, but in the end, it turns out he can.

They're delicious.

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes you think about how you could make Bucky Barnes go to Zumba class and end up catching Jewish Bucky feels, so here they are. 
> 
> The _shalom y'all_ welcome mats are shamelessly cribbed from my local JCC, which I love.
> 
> ETA: I finally remembered to take a picture of said welcome mats:  
> 


End file.
